You read chapter sixteen for last week which chronicled Gilded Age America. You could probably surmise from the emphasis given by your book's author that stems from a labor union background. Both his father and uncle were blacklisted as Communists (probably wrongly) earlier in the 20th century because of their labor activism on behalf of "the workers." Edward Bellamy might not have been quite so influential or labor so deeply rooted as this chapter depicts, but Foner presents a compelling argument for its vibrancy and relevance in late nineteenth-century America.
Here are a few sample questions that you should be able to answer from the chapter:
How did railroads, both as corporations and as transportation networks, revolutionize the American economy?
What were "pools" and "trusts?" What does Foner mean by "economic concentration" with regard to big business and the leadership of private industry?
How were Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller the same, how were they different?
Who was Jacob Riis?
Who was Frederick Jackson Turner and what was the Frontier Thesis all about?
What were the main techniques for the final defeat of the Plains Indians of the West?
What was the Dawes Act? Wounded Knee?
Who was Boss Tweed and why was he significant?
What did the Crédit Mobilier scandal symbolize and what sorts of people were involved in it?
Why was the Civil Service Act relevant, and what did the Interstate Commerce Commission hope to accomplish?
What were the ramifications of the Gold Standard and why did some people want Greenbacks?
What was the Grange?
Who was William Graham Sumner and what were the principles of Social Darwinism?
What, generally speaking, was the government (local, state, and federal) toward organized labor?
Who were Edward Bellamy and Henry George?
Who were the Knights of Labor, and why was the Haymarket "Affair" so damaging to organized labor?
NOTE: WE will be coming back to some of these themes in the next two lectures!
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